Gaborone: Ghanaian sprinter, Abdul Rasheed Saminu, has criticised the Ministry of Sports and Recreation for the poor handling of Team Ghana's travel and logistics to Gaborone, Botswana for the 2027 World Athletics Championships.
According to Ghana Web, the 100m record holder in Ghana expressed his disappointment, highlighting the need for better support from the Ministry in terms of logistics and travel arrangements. Saminu emphasized that as representatives of the country on the global stage, athletes deserve the same level of support and preparation as the nation's football team, the Black Stars.
In a social media post sighted by GhanaWeb Sports, Saminu urged the Ministry to treat athletes with the same consideration given to the Black Stars players. He pointed out the disparity in treatment, noting that if it were the Black Stars, flight tickets would be arranged well in advance of their matches. "The Ministry of Sports in Ghana needs to better, don't set us for failure. If it was 'black stars' flights tickets will be ready month prior to their game," he wrote.
Saminu further criticized the travel arrangements, describing the 14-hour flight with a 16-hour layover as unacceptable for professional athletes. He highlighted the negative impact of such arrangements on their performance, stating, "We running with jet lag, no proper recovery." Despite these challenges, Team Ghana managed to secure automatic qualification to the 2027 championships in Beijing with an impressive time of 38.09 seconds.